Liquid amounts may vary per recipe and some flours like Pendleton POWER flour, need a little more liquid in the recipe. However, what ever liquid amount you choose to use, make sure that 60 percent of the liquid is Beer. This seems to produce the best results for flavor and texture.

This is how it was explained to me by a friend that has several Pizzerias and is doing very well.

This beer is rated with scores from 94 to 100. It has a unique taste and full bodied flavor. However, I had a real struggle with it for dough making. This beer was extremely foamy. At first i thought there was something in my glass, so i tried a second clean glass and even rinsed it out with water. yet, this beer still foamed up. Not exactly sure why? I was fortunate to get to my 9 oz of beer needed for the recipe after the foam finally settled down.

However, other reviews by individual beer drinkers, all not that this beer is very foamy. One individual described this beer: "This beer has head. Mega monster head. Frothy sea-foam like after high tide here. Underneath, an orange brownish brew. Thick and massive lacing."

After pouring this beer into a glass and then reading the reviews, i can see the massive foam first hand. It did work well into the POWER flour and in the end came out well. I will let you know how the pizza turns out. I am sure it will be fine. I do not see a repeat using this beer.

Although this beer foamed up a lot, it still made great pizza dough. I made my standard favorite caramelized onions, sweet Italian sausage, small amount of beachers cheese, covered in mozzarella cheese, red bell peppers, sliced Black Olives, and Mushrooms. Baked at 425 for 15 minutes. Took to a friends house in uncut in a pizza box.

"Orval is one of those Belgian beers that has a wild yeast in it called Brettanomyces. Its the only Trappist beer (from a monastery) with this wild yeast in it intentionally. Brettanomyces (called Brett in the beer world) ferments very slowly and converts sugars left over from the initial fermentation with beer yeast into additional flavor components and some alcohol and CO2. The Brett is usually added at bottling and works slowly but continually in the bottle. If a bottle is old and/or was stored improperly the Brett could over ferment and overcarbonate the beer we call such a bottle a "gusher" and I have seen the beer explode from the bottle on opening and hit the ceiling, an extreme case. Orval should produce a prodigious head but you should be able to pour a 330ml bottle into a pint glass and contain all the head, if not, something went wrong. The beer may still be drinkable (its always safe to drink but not always pleasant) even though it has this flaw. I would pour the beer into a large container say, a pitcher, and give it a few minutes for the head to collapse back into beer taste it and if ok use it in the dough, which I think you did. I would call using Orval in pizza dough extreme pizza making."

Made dough tonight for the weekend using this Anniversary beer. A little darker than I expected. Even though it was a Belgian-Style Quadruple Ale, it had the taste nice of a Double Bock Beer. Fun to try, but i will not be using it again for dough at $14.99. Wish it came in a smaller size, as i have all this beer left over.

Made two pizzas today with the dough that I made with Decadence 2012 Anniversary Ale - Belgian-Style Quadruple Ale - AleSmith Brewing Company. While i previously said that I would not use this beer again due to the 14.99 a pint, it turned out so good that i just might purchase another bottle and use it again. The dough balls rose very well in the two day cold rise and they pressed out just fine. It was a bit darker color dough, but had a fantastic taste.

(The top photo is one of the three 12oz dough balls, after the two day cold rise.)

I also tried a suggestion from TallStormCookinMD on this forum. For my sauce, I mixed some Pizzaiolo Pizza Sauce that i had left over with a new can of 7/11 in a smaller bowl. (EQUAL PARTS) Then i added a splash of Merlot by Kestrel Winery. A Washington State Wine. i really enjoyed this combination and will definitely try it again.

Ecclesiastes 1:9What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun.

Hi Craig,

I see a lot of Pizzerias in the Seattle area that use beer in their dough and wine in their sauce. I basically borrowed the idea from them and continually try to develop my pizza. I really enjoy trying new beers and wines in the process of dough and sauce development. If i do not like how things turn out, I can try again the next time. Lots of fun!!!! So, I keep the experimenting as on going.

Anvil ESB (Extra Special Bitter) - Traditional British Style Pub Ale - AleSmith Brewing Company, San Diego, CA - AleSmith refers to this beer as their Flagship Beer. It is not as dark as the Anniversary Beer that I used in my last pizza dough and not as expensive. Anvil ESB is a good ESB beer with a lot flavor that is great for pizza dough making.

A good friend that owns a Pizzeria in town adds honey to his dough. While i know that the Anvil ESB will be a great beer by itself, in my pizza dough, I wanted to experiment a little bit. So, i added some honey in the flour as well. Then poured in the water/yeast mixture and then the Beer.

Then i make three 12 oz dough balls, coat them with Extra Virgin Olive Oil and bag them individually for a 24 hour minimum cold rise. Making three smaller dough balls out of the one large dough ball is so worth it, despite the extra Fridge space that you will need to make room for.

Tom - did you end up drinking any of the Alesmith beer, or were they all dedicated to the dough? I've gotten Alesmith a couple of times (to drink) and am yet to be impressed by it. Maybe I need to give them another try?

Tom - did you end up drinking any of the Alesmith beer, or were they all dedicated to the dough? I've gotten Alesmith a couple of times (to drink) and am yet to be impressed by it. Maybe I need to give them another try?

Hi SquirrelFlight,

I pick a beer based on suggestions by the beer stores and sometimes by the ratings chart that the store has posted below the bottles. I try to never go over the $20 a pint range. (Although, I have my eye on a $34.95 Pint of beer.) There are some fantastic beers out there in the $5 to $10 a pint range. It is fun to try different styles of beer and especially those that are unique or hard to find. Sometimes people complain on this forum about a high end or limited release beer being used in dough instead of being consumed. I have learned to take the comments with a grain of sea salt. I like to use quality products and I think high end beer makes a difference in the flavor of the dough and texture. Sometimes, even a beer that i can't really enjoy, because i am not used to that beer's particular taste and style, produces an outstanding pizza dough. Beers can really surprise you!!! Again cooking with high end ingredients makes a difference, despite what some may say. Making dough has introduced me to a whole world of great beers and has allowed me to try beers that I never would have tried before.

In response to your question, the beer is dedicated to the dough, but i will taste a sip first and then often drink what is left over. The AleSmith beer has been good. The AleSmith ESB is a favorite of one of the beer store owners. It came highly recommended. You might consider giving it another try. I like what an ESB style beer can do for pizza dough. Also, I know a Pizzeria owner that even brews ESB style beer to be specifically used in dough making at his Pizzeria. Hope that helps.

In closing, IMO, this forum has been about learning from each other and seeing new creative ideas to pizza making. If you look at my early posts in this thread, you will see that i didn't even know how to make pizza dough. Now i have fun doing so.